1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for communicating measured values from electric equipment to monitoring locations.
2. Description of the Related Art
For monitoring electrical equipment, for example a generator in a power generating plant, the physical properties of the electrical equipment, for example the electrical power of the generators, are measured and the values that are measured, i.e. the measured values, are communicated to a central location or to a few decentralized locations and are displayed thereat with, for example, wall displays, i.e. appropriate display means.
For a control of performance features in communication networks, particularly private communication networks, further, a coupling of the switching equipment, particularly private branch exchanges, to an application means that is mainly realized by a data processing system is provided via an application interface or, respectively, ACL interface (application connectivity link). In conformity with the application interface, the private switching means, for example the private switching means HICOM 300 of Siemens AG, is physically connected to the application means via a V.24 interface or, alternatively, via an ISDN basic interface (SO). The application interface is preferably realized in an administration and maintenance unit--an integrated administration and maintenance server given the HICOM 300 switching means--a switching means realizes and controls the communication exchange according to a defined protocol--for example, MSV1--with defined messages. The information embedded into the messages correspond to the switching-oriented instructions and event reports of the switching means. A program structure suitable for the implementation of the switching-oriented instructions and for generating the switching-oriented event reports, i.e. a DVA-controlled program structure that supports connection setups, is provided therein as a link between the application means and the switching means, whereby the call control is influenced by the switching-oriented instructions and the current switching-oriented status of connections or, respectively, communication relationships is indicated by switching-oriented event reports.
The publication Advances in Instrumentation and Control, Vol. 47, Part 2, Research Triangle Park, N.C., US, pages 1431-1435, D. Racklyeft et al., "Intelligent Map Gateway", discloses a network to which different components are connected. A gateway with whose assistance a protocol matching is implemented is provided for the communication between proprietary components or, respectively, proprietary communication protocols. To this end, the individual components are polled and detected, data to be communicated are communicated to the applications provided therefor.
The British patent document GB-A-2 283 845 A discloses a temperature monitoring system wherein a plurality of sensor units are wirelessly connected to a central unit. Means for wireless transmission of measured values are provided in the microprocessor-controlled sensor unit. A memory for storing the wirelessly communicated measured values is provided in the central unit and means are likewise provided for the wireless transmission of measured values.
The published PCT application WO-A-96/08753 discloses a measuring arrangement wherein sensor units are networked via a bus network. The sensor units are controlled by an ASI master connected to the bus network. The ASI master thereby collects and stores measured values communicated from the sensor units. A connection to a communication network is not provided.
The publication Elektronik, No. 12, 1994, pages 64-68, Elmar Flashka, Binare Sensoren am Bus", discloses a central unit to which a plurality of sensor units are connected via connections. The measured values measured by the sensor units are thereby cyclically interrogated or, respectively, polled by the central unit. The communicated measured values are acquired and stored in the central unit. The ASI system can be incorporated into a higher-ranking computer network.